


Before the Early Dawn

by TheBabe



Category: Empire of Storms - Fandom, Throne of Glass Series - Sarah J. Maas
Genre: F/M, War, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-17
Updated: 2016-10-17
Packaged: 2018-08-23 00:02:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8306144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBabe/pseuds/TheBabe
Summary: Aelin comes to a decision and asks a question. A missing scene from Empire of Storms (as imagined by me--all characters the property of Sarah J. Maas).





	

Aelin couldn't sleep. The rocking of the ship on gentle swells and the sound of the wind on the water usually lulled her right to sleep, but knowing Maeve and her fleet were out there left her unable to relax. How to fix this-how to take care of her kingdom, whether she was there or not was all that was on her mind tonight, even with Rowan asleep and curled around her. Then it hit her; something that one of the lords had said, weeks ago now.

They wanted her to marry. She thought they'd wanted her to marry some princeling of their choosing, but now that she thought about it more thoroughly there was only one, in her mind, solution.

"Stop thinking so loudly, Fireheart, and go to sleep," Rowan's sleep-roughened voice rumbled in her ear, his breath stirring the fine hairs at the nape of her neck. Aelin twisted to look Rowan in the face and took a deep breath before saying quietly, ever mindful of other ears with Fae hearing, "Will you marry me?"

Rowan's eyes flew open and wide, then softened when he saw the look of almost, trepidation on her face while she waited for his answer. "I did say, 'to whatever end,' didn't I, Fireheart?"

She smiled slightly, "But did you think you would be doing the asking? And does it bother you that I asked first, here, now, in this situation?" Aelin kept her voice low, so low even he had to strain to hear her words. "It doesn't matter to me whom does the asking-so long as it is you giving me your vows." He felt her mouth against him curl into a smile and then a light kiss on his neck before she spoke again. "I...think we should do it now, tonight, before another moment passes."

He was surprised, he had half expected her to want it all, the gown, the trappings, but then, he remembered that although she certainly loved all those things, her people meant more to her, she had survived the being an assassin, the mud and bugs, storms, training, slavery and gods knew how much more. Only to ask him to marry her, here, now, when his former queen's fleet was bearing down on them, when they didn't know if they would even be alive in 24 hours or not. Dawn could, probably would bring death to them all. But as he'd said, as she had repeated back to him, _"I claim you, to whatever end."_

Now, now it was time to put the truth to the words, to back up the vow. Rowan looked down at her, pale, not getting enough of anything lately, rest, food, always making plans whether she shared them or not, he knew there were plans on top of plans on top of plans. His Fireheart never did anything by half measures. "Yes, Aelin."

His voice was quiet still and he felt her tremble slightly and take a deep breath before he lowered his face to her and claimed her lips in a gentle kiss. Time was short, he knew, and dawn would be coming soon. If they wanted to do this in secret, it had to be now. Stroking his thumb down the side of her face he whispered, "I will go wake Aedion and the captain, you wake Lysandra, and we'll meet you on the deck in 10 minutes."

Aelin wrapped her arms around Rowan's neck and just held on for a moment. She loved him so much, the Fae warrior of hers, so much. She almost changed her mind, scared deep down of what might happen in the morning, what the dawn might bring, and knew no matter what, she wanted him hers forever, no matter how much or how little borrowed time they had left. Aelin drew herself up and stopped her thoughts. He'd said 'yes.' She had nothing beautiful to get married in now, but she promised herself that if they survived all this, that one day, they'd have the biggest wedding ever seen in Erilea and they'd celebrate for a year with all of Terrasen.

Rowan slid out of the bed and pulled on a pair of breeches and shirt in the dark, then he leaned over her and whispered again, "10 minutes, Fireheart." Then he slipped out the door on silent feet, going to Aedion's cabin first.

Aelin slid to the edge of the bed and put her feet on the wooden deck, she stood and after rummaging quietly in the dark, found a pair of pants and a shirt. Lysandra's cabin was in the opposite direction and the deck only creaked once as she stealthily hugged the wall trying to stay in the shadows. She opened the door silently and walked over to Lysandra’s bed.

"Lys, wake up, please," she asked and shook her shoulder. Lysandra's eyes flew open and she started to flex one hand, no doubt changing her fingers into claws, before she realized it was Aelin.

"Aelin, wha--"

Aelin put a finger to her lips to indicate quiet. Lysandra got the message and turned to sit up, pushing her hair out of her face. "I need you to come with me, right now, no questions asked," Aelin said. Lysandra moved to get out of the bed and grabbed a robe. Pulling it on and tying it she said, "All right, I'm ready." She didn't even bother with shoes, but as they headed for the door, unnoticed by Aelin, Lysandra scooped up something that she thought Aelin might need.

* * * *

Lysandra and Aelin left the cabin, Lys in the lead. Aelin smirked a bit at the thought of being protected by the shifter and how their relationship had changed so much in the past few months—from enemies to friends—the jealousy, hatred and contempt gone now and a definite feeling of ‘family’, in its place.

Their trip to the top deck was silent, their feet not even scraping on the wooden planks as they moved. Even the steps up, that normally creaked, were oddly silent. The top deck was awash in waning moonlight and Lysandra stopped on the top step to look around before reaching back for Aelin’s hand to lead her up over the last step.

Lysandra looked back at her Queen, her friend, and smiled a gentle smile before stepping out of her way and whispering, “After you, my Queen.”

Aelin gained the top step and looked to the bow of the ship near the wheel. In the starry, moonlight night stood Rowan, flanked by Aedion and the ship’s captain, all barefoot, which caused her to smile as she watched them.

“Happiness comes in the small things,” Aelin thought.

Lysandra slipped something into her hand, and they started forward, Lys walking beside Aelin, no longer a servant, or anything but Aelin’s friend and advisor. They made their way across the deck and up the steps to the bow to meet the three men waiting for them. When they reached the bottom of the steps and began to make their way up Aelin noticed that her knees were shaking, _when had that started?_

* * * *

Rowan watched as his future—now moments away—wife made her way across the deck and up the stairs to the three of them.

Aedion subtly rubbed his fingers across his eyes, he had only, an hour before Rowan came into his cabin, fallen into his bunk, and so was not quite awake at the moment. Rowan hadn’t told him what he needed Aedion for, only said to follow him. Aedion and most everyone else on the ship had been sleeping fully clothed, in case there was an attack in the night. He had rolled out and followed Rowan to wake the captain of the ship, he too, was fully clothed, and none of them had shoes on. On Rowan’s other side, the captain raised his hand and discreetly covered a yawn.

_His carranam. His Fireheart. HIS._

Rowan stepped out from between the two men and met Aelin halfway across the deck. He could tell she was nervous, it was in every line of her body, every movement of her arms and legs, every breath. One hand clenched something he couldn’t make out at first, then she stepped through a shaft of moonlight and he could see that it was a flower. His eyes slid to Lysandra, who smiled slightly and shrugged a little before looking to Aedion briefly.

Aelin was rolling the stem between her fingers slowly, and the color of it changed between the light and shadows she passed through, one moment it was white, the next deep pink. Rowan doubted she even knew what she was holding and it was a miracle she hadn’t broken the stem in two. At last, they met in the middle of the deck and Aelin looked up at Rowan, their eyes meeting for the first time since he’d left the cabin, was it only ten minutes ago? It seemed like hours.

Their eyes connected and her shoulders relaxing, Aelin smiled almost shyly. “Fancy meeting you here, she breathed, before he took her hand and pressed a kiss to her palm, then folded her fingers in, as if he were giving her a kiss to hold onto forever. “Are you ready, Fireheart?”

“Are you?” She returned, looking up at him still. Rowan grinned, his teeth flashing in the near dark, “I’m not letting you get away that easily.”

He gestured to where Aedion and the captain waited for the, “Will you do me the honor?” He asked. Rowan had no idea where those last words had come from, but he thought it might have been the best thing he could have said because everything about her relaxed. Aelin’s face softened and lost most of its tired look. Rowan sometimes forgot that for all that she had been through, everything that had led to now, good and bad, that Aelin was only nineteen. No matter the life she had led before, everything she was now had come from who she had been before.

Aelin’s fingers tightened on his, “Lead on, my Lord. Rowan walked with her the few steps back to Aedion and the captain and Lysandra slipped up beside Aedion.

The captain looked at them both and waited until they spoke first, together, “We’re ready, Captain.” With that, he began and they repeated word for word the vows he recited, they spoke their own and each others', together. In a few moments, hardly twenty minutes after she’d woken him with her restlessness, it was completed.

There were no rings to exchange, no wedding breakfast or reception, but there was a quiet joy on both their faces as they signed the papers, the originals that Aedion would keep and the copies that would stay in the captain’s possession as a precaution. Aelin and Rowan slipped back to their cabin just as the moon slipped below the horizon and the first fingers of dawn stretched out from the east.

 

They had fifteen minutes together before all hell broke loose.


End file.
